really, it's starting to look like trump and his advisors are coming down with a case of what edward said called orientalism, which is a mythical projection of the middle east as a mystical source of wisdom rooted in the writings of nietzsche, in biblical narratives and in the ubiquity of free masonry in the ruling classes 100 years ago, when the facts are that the region has been culturally backwards and struggling to catch up ever since the fall of sumeria 5000 years ago.